General standards: this covers areas including fitness and propriety, expertise and care, professional development, the role of the professional trustee, behaviours and skills, conflicts of interest, trustee duties delegated to a professional trustee and practices relating to the professional trustee’s own appointment.

Standards relating to chairing a trustee board or assisting the chair: this expands on the roles and qualities expected of a professional trustee chair in respect of the different parties involved in the pension scheme and areas of governance.

Additional standards for professional trustees who act as a sole trustee: this sets out which professional trustees should not act as sole trustee and what procedures and processes must be in place for professional trustees who are appointed as sole trustee. In particular, the standards do not permit sole traders to act as a sole trustee of a pension scheme. Whilst the standards have no legal status, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has stressed that it is averse to sole traders acting as sole trustees and TPR will bring pressure to bear on employers who do appoint a sole trader as sole trustee.

Anyone falling within TPR’s description of a professional trustee will be expected to comply with the framework. Broadly speaking, this would be “…any person, … who acts as a trustee of the scheme in the course of the business of being a trustee”. It is worth noting that the standards and accreditation only apply to individuals – they do not apply to corporate trustees and firms. The standards and accreditation do, however, apply to any individual carrying out professional trustee duties on behalf of a corporate trustee or firm, such as a director of a corporate trustee.

The accreditation process is still a work in progress, but is anticipated to begin by mid-2019.

Accreditation

To achieve accredited status, it is expected that applicants must:

Comply with a ‘fit and proper’ requirement. This is modelled on the standards for trustees of master trusts – trustees must be able to demonstrate that they meet a standard of honesty, integrity and knowledge appropriate to their role.

Provide references from two reputable figures within the industry. This could be an existing accredited professional trustee, a pensions lawyer or a scheme actuary.

Complete 25 hours of relevant continuing professional development (CPD). At least 15 hours of this must be structured CPD (such as a conference, seminar or formal trustee training).

It is proposed that the PMI will manage the accreditation framework subject to consultation with and the oversight of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees. There is a cost associated with achieving and maintaining accreditation however this is currently unknown. It is expected that costs will be confirmed by mid-2019.

About the Compensation and Benefits Global Insights Blog

Welcome to our Compensation and Benefits Global Insights Blog. Bringing together the expertise and knowledge of our Tax Strategy & Benefits, Labor & Employment and Pensions Practice Groups, our aim is to inform, educate and (occasionally) entertain on issues relating to how to remunerate/compensate and provide benefits to executives, directors and other staff. READ MORE